The Princess's Knight
by The Princess of Stars
Summary: **One-shot companion to 'Olaball Aftermath'** Elena might have won the tournament, but maybe using the 'Leaping Stag' on a sprained ankle wasn't a very wise move... but every cloud has a silver lining. Maybe her getting injured was exactly what it took for Elena and Gabe to finally have the 'alone-time' they needed to get closer together.


**Hey guys! I'm back! After watching 'The Princess Knight' episode, ispiration struck and here is another one-shot companion to Olaball Aftermath. These are pretty much one-shots of what happends after the episode, BUT they follow MY fanfiction storyline:  
1) Olaball Aftermath  
2)The Princess's Knight  
**

 **With that being said...**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _The Princess's Knight_**

The first few weeks had been easy. No one had seemed to notice that things had changed between them, changed in a good way. It was all new to both of them and even though, part of them wanted to scream to the world and show off their sweet half, but they knew better and Elena was glad Gabe was respecting her request of privacy about them. They wouldn't call what they did 'sneaking around', more like taking a few minutes of privacy whenever they could, like they did the morning before the Migs, Skylar and Luna took the princess to their ceremony. They only managed to have a minute alone, before they heard the loud jaquins get closer to her balcony and Elena kicked him out of her room after a last quick kiss. Gabe complained a little bit at first, but the jaquins, especially Skylar, were Avalor's most functional gossip channel. Even if they didn't want to, Avalor would have known about him and Elena in less than a minute. Usually whenever they managed to get some alone time, it usually ended up like that: Gabe getting kicked out, them jumping away pretending to be busy with something, and sometimes when he was taking a break from training and the princess went to visit him it was Elena who got kicked out. If it was frustrating on one side, on the other they had to admit that sometimes it was fun as they usually ended up laughing about it later, or on the spot, especially if it was Esteban who almost caught them.

The last two days had been hectic with Elena entering the fencing tournament as Sir Elezar, but it was good to see that those two days of fencing full-immersion had paid off. After Elena won the tournament, she walked away trying to hide her limp, followed closely by Gabe and her grandparents. Had it been for him, the young guard would have carried her immediately, but knew better and stayed close to her ready to support her so that Elena could walk away from the arena with the dignity of the winner she was. Gabe could see that Elena was in pain as they walked off, her ankle hurt as it was sprained, but he held back to do anything until they were out of the audience's sight. She tried to look fine and smiling, but her eyes clearly said: ' _my ankle's killing me but I must not show it'_.  
Her grandparents followed them and silently respected Elena's wishes, knowing how important it was for her to not just win but also walk out head on. In her perspective Elena couldn't help but feel touched by Gabe's concern. She knew that he wanted so bad to just lift her off her feet immediately and rush her to the physician to see how bad her ankle was, but still respected her wishes to walk away head on and not like a damsel in distress. When they were out of sight, they stopped and Gabe looked around to see if any fans were there or worse, Sir Cassius's father. They were not giving him the satisfaction of seeing that he had injured her anyway, but no one was there.

"Coast is clear. Do you want me to carry you now?" Gabe asked her.

"Do you even have to ask?" Elena replied quickly with grateful relief, not able to handle the pain much longer. Her grandparent smiled at her quick reaction as she gave them the trophy.

"You never know with you! So…" Gabe snickered and picked her up. Elena laughed along, wrapping her arms around his neck to help him carry her. They quickly walked to the carriage and Gabe gently settled Elena down on the seat, before going to his coachman post and drive the princess and her grandparents back to the castle. The moment they go there, Gabe carried Elena all the way to her room as Francisco called the castle physician. Of course, the dashing royal guard carrying the princess around the castle didn't go by unnoticed, as Isabel rushed to Elena's side the moment she saw them when they walked up the castle's stairs. Both Elena and her grandparents immediately calmed down the young princess, telling her that she probably just had a sprained ankle and that, on the bright side, Elena had won the tournament, no matter the injury. Naomi didn't freak out as much, but was worried about her friend, still she was actually cheering when they told her about Elena's win. Unfortunately, the same didn't go for Esteban.  
When he got into Elena's room and was told by the doctor that the princess had indeed a sprained ankle, hell went lose. The Chancellor was furious, he couldn't care less if Elena had won or not. She had gotten herself injured in a fencing tournament, that was enough to him.

"I don't care that you won, Elena!" Esteban shouted, not caring if the doctor was present "You are the crown princess! You have duties that cannot be delayed because of a stupid injury you could have easily avoided by not participating to the tournament! A fencing tournament, of all! Princesses are not supposed to fence! Fencing is a man's activity!"

"Esteban!" Francisco interjected "You're not really _that_ antiquated! I am your grandfather and even I don't believe that!"

"That is in fact a shocker to me, Abuelo!" Esteban insisted "How could you let her do that?!"

"Esteban! You know that even your aunt was a fencer" Luisa said "There's nothing wrong with that"

"But she was not the crown princess in her time, Abuela!" Esteban replied "And she got injured as well!"

"My mother getting injured was not an accident, Esteban. Lord Elrod injured her on purpose, I tripped while dodging a strike" Elena replied, after sharing an apologetic look with the physician who was awkwardly bandaging her foot to block the ankle.

"It doesn't matter! You shouldn't have entered the tournament in the first place! You risked hurting yourself and you did!"

"I can risk hurting myself even by making tea or peeling an orange!" Elena replied "Plus, knowing how much of a klutz I am, _this_ could have happened even by just taking a walk to a meeting or walking down the stairs. Accidents happen, get over it" she said pointing at her foot.

"Yes, accidents do happen and they are not supposed to happen to the upcoming queen! You're lucky you just sprained your ankle, but you could have broken it, or worse, you could have broken a knee, or your wrist, or an arm!" the chancellor fumed.

"Now you're just being overly dramatic, Esteban" Naomi said with an annoyed look.

"Yeah" Isabel agreed "And even if she did, broken bones heal cousin. It's not a big deal"

"Stay out of this, Isabel" Esteban said "You're too young to understand"

"Understand that you're freaking out over nothing?" Naomi challenged.

"Understand the importance of the crown princess's safety and the image she has to give to her people! What do you think the people of Avalor will think after watching you being carried away unable to walk on your own feet?" Esteban snapped.

"They'll think that their ruler is much stronger than she looks" Gabe said, defending his girlfriend, unable to keep quiet much longer "Because I did not carry the Princess out of the arena, she walked away on her own feet, head on and trophy in hand" he added with slight anger towards the chancellor in his voice. All eyes were fixed on Gabe. They knew he was aware of his position and the only time they heard him talk back to one of the royal family members was a short playful remark regarding Elena being attacked by Charoca. Needless to say, they were surprised to hear the young Lieutenant speak up to the Chancellor with a tone that was not friendly. Esteban glared hard at him.

"And _you_!" the chancellor said pointing his finger towards him, getting to his face "Your job was to _protect_ the Princess, not teach her how to fence! I am no fool! I know that it was you who prepared and encouraged my cousin to take part in the tournament! This is all your fault!"

"Dios mio! This is getting ridiculous…" Luisa quietly mumbled, shaking her head

"Don't take it out on Gabe, Esteban!" Elena interjected "He didn't even want to train me in the first place. I was the one who insisted"

"Well, he shouldn't have given in to your childish tantrum" Esteban replied not taking his eyes off Gabe "Lieutenant Nuñez, you had one job: protect Crown Princess Elena and not only you failed, you also encouraged her to put herself into danger! Her victory matters nothing! Do you realize the consequences of today's tournament?!"

"As a matter of fact, I do, Chancellor" Gabe replied now angrily "All of Avalor is going to think that Princess Elena is a strong and resourceful ruler who doesn't back down when things get hard, instead, she steps up. I know I am supposed to protect her, but this tournament was important to her and I am at her service"

"A rather poor service if she got hurt" Esteban replied "You are fired and discharged with dishonor!" Esteban decreed dramatically, causing the others to groan exasperated, rolling their eyes. All but the young lieutenant.

"You don't have either of those powers over me, Chancellor. I remind you I wasn't employed by you" Gabe replied "I was employed by the Grand Council you're in. So unless a majority of the vote fires me, I'm staying and I'll keep supporting the princess, protecting her and teach her how to fence if she wants me to"

"Fencing is not a sport for women!" Esteban fumed, holding back from stomping his feet like a toddler.

"With all due respect Chancellor, making your cousin feel guilty about something she's good at is not going to compensate for _your_ lacking in fencing ability"

" _Ooooh_! **_Buuuurn_**!" Naomi exclaimed, bursting out laughing with Isabel and Elena. The doctor hardly stifled his laugh as did Luisa and Francisco. Esteban was fuming seeing the total lack of support… glaring daggers at Gabe as he shared a look with Elena, trying hard to hide his satisfied smirk.

"How **_dare_** you-"

"-Gabe, can you take Isa to Via Mercado? She needs some materials for her latest invention and I forgot to get them after the tournament" Elena loudly interjected, sending Isabel a look.

"Yes! Gabe, we need to go now before the store closes!" Isabel said picking up on her sister's look and running to Gabe who was a little confused at first, but followed the younger princess out of the room as she dragged him out of the door. Everyone went silent for a second.

"Well, Lieutenant Nuñez made a very good point" Francisco said "His discharge from the army and firing from his position _are_ indeed at the hands of the whole Grand Council"

"All in favor of keeping Lieutenant Nuñez as Elena's royal guard, raise your hand" Luisa said and as expected everyone except Esteban raised their hands.

"4 to 1, done! You lose! Gabe's staying" Elena said with a triumphant smirk.

"You cannot be serious!" Esteban said bewildered.

"Grand Council has declared its vote. Gabe's staying. Suck it up, Esteban" Naomi said, earning a chuckle from the others. Esteban huffed and walked out of the room, steam coming out of his ears. Everyone went quiet, for a few seconds all looking at each other. That had been quite the moment. No one was expecting Gabe to actually intervene and defend Elena like that. They all knew that Elena could handle her cousin and that Gabe would allow her to do so herself. His intervention had made a very good impression on both Francisco and Luisa. If they had a doubt earlier, now it was gone; they knew they had chosen the right person to protect Elena. Gabe was loyal to her and no one else. The four shared a look and after Francisco proceeded to apologize to the doctor for the scene his grandson had caused proceeded to ask how Elena's foot was.

* * *

The doctor had left a while ago. Ever since she asked him to leave to separate him and Esteban, he hadn't showed up. She figured he had been held back to attend to other duties. Her ankle wasn't too bad, but the doctor had recommended her to rest and if she really had to move, she had to use a wheelchair. In fact, the moment the doctor left, Naomi returned to her room with a wheelchair and helped Elena on it. She knew her best friend too well. Elena was not going to lay in bed for days because of a minor injury. Still, for the rest of the day, Elena remained in her room to take care of her homework. Unlike Isabel, Elena was castle schooled, it was the price of being the crown princess, but she didn't complain. To her it meant she could organize herself with her study, work and free time and right now she could use the situation to her advantage to get ahead of her studies.  
As she studied, though, her mind would go back to Gabe standing up for her. She didn't consider herself a damsel in distress and in any other case she knew that he would have either kept quiet, share an annoyed look with her and let her stand up for herself, but now things were different. Gabe wasn't just her royal guard, he was her boyfriend. Sure, only they knew, but she couldn't help but find his protective streak cute in that situation, it meant that he cared. Also, him putting Esteban back in his place had been quite funny and entertaining, but after that killer line of Esteban compensating his lacking by trying to make her feel bad, she knew she had to separate them.  
It was around 8p.m. that Elena thought she was not seeing Gabe anytime soon, then she heard a knock on the door, distracting her from her studies.

"It's open!" she replied. She finished scribbling a few last notes on her book as she heard the door creak open.

"Is the best fencer in Avalor available for her greatest fan?" she heard a familiar voice say playfully. Her head snapped to the door and a bright smile appeared on her face as she saw her boyfriend's head pop into the room

"Gabe! I thought wasn't going to see anymore of you until tomorrow" she said, wheeling herself towards him as he slid into the room with a tray in hand.

"Well, turns out Isabel _did_ have to buy some materials and then my instructor asked me to substitute him for a few hours" Gabe explained, closing the door behind him "Dinner service for the Crown Princess" he added smiling, walking to her.

"Thank you, you didn't have to" she replied.

"I know, but I wanted to. Plus, your abuela thought it was a good idea to send me up to bring you dinner" he replied with a smile, balancing the large tray on Elena's wheelchair's arms before meeting Elena's lips with a small kiss. Elena laughed softly at his last sentence.

"You think she already figured us out?" she asked as Gabe went to wheel her next to her bed.

"More like she's trying to set us up" Gabe replied. Elena laughed along with him.

"She's going to be so upset when she realizes she was late" she replied, Gabe laughed.

"Yeah, and to make things worse, we didn't tell her a thing" he replied, earning another giggle from his girlfriend "Is here good?" he asked as he settled the wheelchair.

"Yeah, this is good" she replied and started eating her dinner.

"So" Gabe continued, taking her new footstool and sitting on it, beside her "How's your ankle? What did the doctor say?"

"Better. It's sprained, though" she started "Then, -thank goodness Esteban had left or I wouldn't have heard the end of it- he said that by finishing the match and walking on it I strained it so, instead of what could have been three days of rest, I have to stay on this thing for two weeks and I quote ' _if I behave_ ', doctor's words" she explained

"Well, you might have nailed the _Leaping Stag_ , but jumping with a sprained ankle wasn't exactly the most brilliant of ideas" Gabe said, smiling at her.

"Yeah, well, the ends justify the means" Elena said smiling back "It was a price I was willing to pay" she said theatrically. Gabe laughed.

"I see your cousin isn't the only one with a dramatic flair" he replied

"Runs in the family" Elena replied taking a last bite of her food, leaving the dessert she hadn't exactly noticed "Avaloran chocolate pudding?" she asked. Gabe smiled nodding his head slowly.

"Yup. I sneaked it on your tray, otherwise you would have had fruit salad" he replied. Elene quirked an eyebrow at him, giving him a playful inquisitive look.

"You sure you've never had a girlfriend before? Because you sure do know how to be boyfriend material" she said. Gabe slowly shook his head with a smile.

"Nope. You're my first" Gabe replied, leaning forward towards her "I suppose I'd just do anything to see you smile" Elena smiled and kissed him softly.

"Smooth-talker" she teased, pulling away "Come on, there's enough pudding for us both. Help me up on the bed and lets share" she said smiling at him. Gabe didn't need her to ask twice. He took the tray in one hand and helped Elena support herself on the other as she took one hop on her good foot and sat on the bed, before moving to a laying position as Gabe settled the tray in front of her. Elena made herself a little more comfortable, Gabe proceeded to remove his uniform jacket, revealing his wide V-neck shirt, and searching into his jacket pocket, placing it on a chair as he found what he was looking for.

"Do you normally carry a spoon with you?" Elena asked patting the spot in front of her as he walked to her with his spoon in hand.

"Not usually" he replied nonchalantly walking to her. Elena shook her head.

"You planned this" she said with a smirk.

"Oh, I was hoping for it!" Gabe replied, satisfied with this outcome, and making himself comfortable, laying in front of her. The two of them digging into the amazing chocolate pudding. They remained quiet at first, tasting the sweet chocolate, both considering it a treat after their hard work, Gabe training her and Elena for her victory. As they ate, they exchanged a few words and small jokes. It felt good. It was nice being together just like that. No duties, no royals, no others bugging them. Still, something came up to them both: the secrecy of their relationship. That day, nothing bad had happened, but if either of them had anymore standing up for each other moments like that, the others would start to understand that something was going on between them. On the other hand, though, both of them wanted to keep it quiet for a while to just enjoy being together and share what they had with just each other.

"Best pudding ever" Gabe commented as he was done eating his side of the dessert.

"Nothing beats Avaloran chocolate" Elena added.

"Yup. Wait, let me" Gabe replied taking the tray from Elena's hands and putting it on the nightstand, before going back to his previous position, propping his hand up and resting his head on it, looking at Elena with a sweet smile as he raised his hand towards her and gently caressed her cheek with his finger. She smiled back at him at first, but then Gabe noticed a shadow pass through her eyes. He knew that look well, something had come up to her and it upset her.

"Hey, what's bothering you?" he asked in a soft voice, giving her an affectionate, almost imperceptible, pinch of the cheek, before dropping his hand. Elena cracked a smile at his sweet gesture and concern and didn't hold back from talking to him.

"I was just thinking about earlier" she started "Let's start with the good news: you're not fired from being my royal guard with 4 votes against 1"

"Good to know" Gabe replied before letting her continue.

"It's just that… look, I can take care of myself and I'm aware that you know that and the fact that you still stood up for me today was really sweet, but… we should both try to keep it down, at least until we tell my family about us" she said a little uneasily.

"I know what you mean" Gabe said, understanding "You asked for privacy and if we let our boyfriend/girlfriend instinct kick in everyone's going to be onto us and find out" Gabe understood, but Elena could read him like an open book, just like he could read her. She noticed that there was something bothering him as he said that.

"You don't like to keep us quiet, do you?" Elena asked, lifting her hand to stroke his cheek, feeling a slight sense of guilt creeping up to her. Gabe sighed, there was no point in trying to deny it.

"Kind of… I mean, I want to keep it quiet too" he started, holding her hand as it fell from his face "This, _us_ , it's all new to me too and considering that you're the crown princess, I too prefer to have some privacy right now… but you don't want to tell your family for obvious reasons and you asked me to keep it quiet to everyone as well" he paused, rubbing his thumb on her knuckles "If there is one person with whom I've never had secrets with it's my mother. At first I thought I could do it, I mean- who doesn't hide things about their love life from their parents?- but the more time passes the less I feel like I can, especially since moms have some sort of sixth sense and they just _know_ when something good happened to you and ask questions to figure out what it is. Point is, I want to tell her about _us_ and the fact that I can't kind of sucks!" he confessed. There was a moment of silence. Elena didn't really know how to reply, unable to feel anything but a little guilty about it. Gabe was not entirely okay with the arrangement and she did not notice, too busy being preoccupied in keeping her family from knowing.

"I'm sorry, Gabe" she started "I didn't realize that this silence was bothering you as much" she apologized "Look, if you really want to tell your mother it's okay. Don't worry about it. I understand completely if you want to share the news with her. You have close bond and I don't want to ruin that"

"No, no don't apologize and don't start feeling bad about it" he said giving her hand a small squeeze and a tiny smile "It's okay. It does bother me a little, but it's fine"

"But Gabe, this is important to you!"

"You are more" he said stopping her river of words that was about to come out of her mouth, remaining with her mouth agape. Gabe scooted closer to her, letting go of her hand to cup her cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb "Elena, it's fine. With the life you have, the position you're in, you need the privacy. You don't need to be stressed out by people watching us like hawks. Plus, I know my mom and even if she swore not to tell anyone, that _'anyone'_ doesn't include my dad and believe me when I tell you he's a huge blabbermouth when it comes to showing off. Imagine how little it would take for all of Avalor to know when he finds out he can go out and say: _'Hey people! Guess what? My son is dating the crown princess!'_ "

"Is your dad really that much of a gossiper?" Elena couldn't help but ask, slightly amused.

"Oh, with something like this he could challenge Luna and Skylar in that field" Gabe replied with a smile, earning a small laugh from her "That thought is how I repress the urge to tell my mom about us. It works like a charm" he added. Elena couldn't help but snicker again at his last statement, before turning serious once more.

"Are you sure about this?" Elena asked "Because I don't want to go on with this silence if you're not okay with it"

"Elena, it's fine, really. For once, let someone else put _your_ needs first" Gabe said gently "Let _me_ put you first" their eyes met and Elena felt her hear beat twice as hard as she heard him say those words. It filled her heart with love, it felt new. Not that her parents didn't care about her, but being rulers they too had to put the good of their kingdom before everyone else most of the time, like she did. Difference was that Elena was ready to drop everything for those she cared about, especially if that someone was Isabel. If she had to say the truth, when she had asked Gabe for silence regarding their new relationship, she thought she was actually asking for him, not for herself when in reality she was. Elena was used to being under the spotlight, it was Gabe she was worried about, knowing that behind that tough guy act, he wasn't really a people's person and she didn't know how he would react to the sudden 'kingdom-level' attention.

"I… I suppose it'll be something kind of new" Elena said with a shy smile. Gabe chuckled.

"I guess you didn't realize you're always the one running around, being there for everyone else when they need help" he said smiling, placing a strand of hair behind her ear, before placing back his hand where it was gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. She smiled, timidly, realizing Gabe was right.

"I just… I'm not that much used to have someone putting me first anymore" she confessed.

"Come here" Gabe said as he scooted even closer, placing his arms around her smaller frame as Elena cuddled up to him, resting a hand and her head on his chest, enjoying the warmth he brought her. She met his kind gaze "You better get used to it again, then" he added with a sweet smile.

"My knight in shining armor" Elena replied playfully with a smile matching his as he placed a soft lingering kiss on her lips. They pulled back keeping their eyes closed, letting the moment settling in, before making themselves more comfortable; Gabe resting his head on the pillows and leaning it on Elena's, tightening his muscular arms around her and Elena resting hers on his chest, listening to his quickened heartbeat with a small tender smile on her face. She found it cute and couldn't help but feel content with herself realizing that she was the one who made his heart beat faster, just by being near him.

"Did you lock the door?" she suddenly asked.

"No…why?" he replied worried for a second.

"It's a good thing Esteban never breaks the royal etiquette even if we're family. Imagine his reaction if he walked in this minute" Elena said, Gabe chuckled picturing the situation.

"If he flipped out like that over you with a sprained ankle, he's going to murder me on the spot" Gabe said, making Elena chuckle.

"Probably" she added.

"Well, I have my dad, you have your cousin, to each their own" he joked.

"Probably best that you haven't closed it"

"Yeah, that would be hard to explain" Gabe said smiling earning a quick kiss on the cheek from her, before she rested her head back on his chest.

"Elena" Gabe quietly called her. She hummed a response that meant she was listening "I… I think I owe you an apology" he said, Elena tilted her head up.

"For what?" she asked, uncertain.

"When I needed help in olaball, you were the only one who offered to coach me without anyone asking you to. Yet, when you asked me I refused… I'm sorry" he said.

"Gabe, it's fine, really. Making sure I don't get hurt is your job" she said, understandingly.

"It wasn't just that, I owe you an explanation" Gabe said. Elena tilted her head up to look at him, inquisitively, waiting for him to explain himself "I am protective of you, Elena. I mean, it just comes natural to me. I know you can fight your own battles and can take care of yourself, but I care about you a lot and I didn't want you getting hurt… Isabel was right when she said that broken bones heal, but sometimes when they are _bad_ , they don't always heal properly" Gabe said with a hint of sadness.

"Why am I getting the feeling there is a story behind this?" she asked.

"There is, actually. We were under Shuriki's reign. An old friend of mine and he had all the potential for a great military career: great footwork, strategic knowledge, perceptive, quick, all the best qualities to be a good warrior he had them. Shuriki used to hold tournaments that would help young soldiers rise up the ranks and prove themselves. We were spar partners and during our second tournament we were opponents"

"What happened?" Elena asked having a bad feeling to how the story ended.

"While sparring, I had managed to push him almost out of the sparring mat, I either hit him or pushed him out to get the point, so I went for a slash to have him jump back, but at the same time he thrusted instead of jumping back"

"You hit his wrist and broke it, didn't you?" she finished.

"Yes… badly" Gabe said "He didn't just had to forfeit the match. When his wrist healed, it didn't heal properly and he couldn't fight anymore… he was forced to quit the army… and it was my fault" Gabe confessed.

"But it was an accident! You didn't do it on purpose! You couldn't have known he'd counterattack at the same time" she said, trying to comfort him.

"You don't need to make me feel better, Elena" he said with a gentle smile "We're still on good terms. He knew I'd never harm him on purpose. I mean- if I think about it I still _do_ feel awful about it, but it's not why I told you this" he continued "Accidents happen if you're lucky you end up like you and your mother, if you're not you end up like my friend and… I didn't want to risk you getting hurt like that and… I admit that when I showed you the other contestants and said you were not going to like how I trained I was hoping you'd back out. I should know by now that once you set your mind on something you're going to do it" Elena giggled.

"Yes, you really should" she replied with a smile.

"Yeah, well… I keep hoping in that miracle to happen at least once" he replied with a tiny smile.

"Then why did you do it anyway?" Elena couldn't help but ask, going back to the topic "It's not like I forced you to do so"

"Because I believe in you. I believe you can be a great queen, like I believed you could have won the tournament and you did. Most of all I did it because it was important to you" Gabe said looking down at her "And that made it important to me" Elena lifted her head back up to look at him in the eyes, realizing he had just said the same words she had spoken to him during olaball practice.

"Do you actually mean that or are you just flirting with me?" Elena replied trying to hide an amused, playful smile. Gabe smirked and instead of replying immediately he leaned in and kissed her.

"Would it be bad if my answer was: both?" Gabe replied with that same smirk, keeping his face close to hers. Elena slightly shook her head with a smile as Gabe snickered at her resigned face, but he knew she understood he had meant those words when Elena cupped his cheek and closed the gap between them once more. She was hoping for a long sweet kiss, but Gabe pulled back after merely a second.

"I take it as my answer was good" he teased.

"You think?" she teased back sarcastically. They snickered at each other before Gabe captured her lips with his once more, kissing her with a smile on his face. That sweet kiss, meant to be short, became long and gently passionate. Gabe felt a small shiver run through his body as Elena's hand traveled up to his nape, her fingers softly tousling his silky hair. Elena felt a rush of warmth as Gabe lightly tightened his arms around her, his thumb gently stroking her arm, giving her goosebumps.

Sometimes, they both felt like they were still in that awkward first stage of being a couple, that moment when you know that you can show your affection to your special someone, but are still not sure if it is going to be accepted. Then came moments like these, when it was just the two of them, joking and teasing each other, getting comfortable and feeling free to show affection to one another. For as 'free' as they could be, they were slowly stepping into the dynamics of being a couple. That moment had been another step into that dynamic. It was then that they both came to the silent realization that that had been the longest 'alone-time' they've had since they started seeing each other. Whenever they saw one another, all they could get before being interrupted were a few kisses and small talk; that was actually the first time they got to cuddle up together. It was nice.  
Silently Elena hoped they could do that more often soon, hopefully when they were sure that their feelings for one another were strong enough to face the consequences the sudden attention on them would have brought upon them.

They slowly parted, eyes closed, feeling each other's warmth, faces just an inch apart. Elena's fingers still playing with his hair made Gabe's muscles relax even more than he already was as Elena enjoyed the tenderness of his embrace. Both of them finally starting to feel their eyelids grow heavy.

"I should go" Gabe said, slightly opening his eyes, hating the fact that he had to let her go before someone went looking for him. "Goodnight, Elena" he said and forced himself to loosen his arms around her.

"No, wait" Elena stopped him, before he could remove his arms from around her "Can you stay a few more minutes? This is nice" she asked looking at him, though her eyes hid the upcoming sleepiness. Gabe smiled tenderly, he couldn't say 'no' to her and he too wanted to stay cuddled up with her a few more minutes. It didn't take a lot of convincing.

"Yes, it is" he replied softly, tightening his arms around her once more. Elena smiled and rested her head on his chest, inhaling deeply, taking in his scent as she relaxed in his arms, closing her eyes as he did the same the moment he leaned his head on hers. Gabe too, taking in a deep breath, inhaling the smell of her long soft hair. They felt at peace in that cozy, comfortable, loving embrace in the quiet of the evening and eventually sleep got the best of them, carrying them into a blissful slumber of happy dreams.

A smile appeared on Luisa's face when, later on the night, she went to check up on her granddaughter and found the two teens peacefully sleeping in each other's arms.

* * *

 **And there you have it! Hope you liked this one-shot! Tell me what you think about it and if you want, since Gabelena is a minority, I TAKE REQUESTS! But I warn that they will take some time, still, if you'd like me to write a one-shot with a certain theme or idea, I'll gladly write it for all of us Gabelena fans!  
**

 **See you on the next one shot!**

 **The Princess of Stars**


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